‘Ha-chan: Shake Your Booty!’ review: Rinko Kikuchi sparks in playful ballroom dance drama

Dir: Josef Kubota Wladyka. USA. 2026. 122mins

Rinko Kikuchi is a knockout in this eccentric but endearing story of grief and healing, set in the world of Tokyo’s ballroom dancing community. She plays Haru, a dancer in her mid-40s who becomes infatuated with her dashing new instructor, Fedir (Alberto Guerra). Josef Kubota Wladyka’s third feature film is a playful and whimsical confection, a deft blend of escapist kitsch and the real emotional heft that Kikuchi brings to the role.

Design is central to the film’s quirky personality

It’s the most personal work to date for New York-based Kubota Wladyka, whose previous films include Tribeca Audience Award winner Catch The Fair One and who has also worked extensively in television, directing episodes of Narcos, One Piece and Tokyo Vice. The film is dedicated to the director’s mother and, although it is not her actual story, it is inspired by her lifelong passion for competitive ballroom dancing. It’s a defiantly odd picture at times – the recurring motif of an adorable giant crow makes it feel like The Thing With Feathers viewed through the lens of Kawaii (Japan’s culture of cuteness) – but, under the spangly costumes, gaudy eye makeup and extravagant fantasy dance routines, this is a film with real heart and the potential for considerable audience appeal.

Throughout, the design is central to the film’s quirky personality. The home that Haru shares with her beloved Mexican husband Luis (Alejandro Edda) – with whom she competes in the ‘Amateur Latin Senior’ category in ballroom dance competitions – is an exquistely detailed shrine to their love and life together. Photos of the couple, dripping with sequins and adorned with medals, attest to their shared passion for dance. And an entire wall is dedicated to their vinyl collection (music, not surprisingly, also takes a significant starring role in the film).

The preference for records rather than digital media hints at an aspect of Haru’s character – she and Luis exist in their own little world, slightly disengaged from the present day. Her 70s-flavoured costumes, by Japanese costume designer Baby Mix, and her bubble-permed haircut also add to the sense that Haru is, in some ways, a throwback to a past era.

Following Luis’ sudden, tragic death, Haru is forced to engage with the world without her soulmate – her initial reaction is to hide from everything, including her sister Yuki (Yoh Yoshida) and her brash, foul-mouthed cousin Hiromi (YOU). It helps that she believes that Luis is still with her, in the form of the giant crow that visits at night. But eventually, the two women break through her wall of grief and persuade her to reconnect with the world.

Although he is not a figment of her imagination, in some ways Haru’s new dancing instructor Fedir is as much a fantasy creation as the “Kawaii Karasu” crow. Haru is instantly smitten; he becomes her smouldering partner in imaginary dance routines and soon, in real life. Fedir is handsome, attentive and a sensitive lover. He’s also in an open marriage, to a vampy world-class ballroom dancer. Despite knowing this from the outset, Haru finds herself growing emotionally attached and jealous, with predictably messy consequences.

It’s a bumpy journey for Haru and a path to healing which is pitted with questionable decisions. But Kubota Wladyka’s storytelling is warm and non-judgemental, and Kikuchi’s disarming combination of glamour and goofiness keeps the audience on side. And even if the Tokyo commuter train dance routine finale is a crowd-pleasing cliché, it’s hard to begrudge Haru her feel-good happy ending.